


Worst First Date

by motorbike_on_the_avenue



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Doctors, F/M, First Dates, Just a bit of fun, Modern AU, No Angst, No Incest, No murder, worst first date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:54:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26517787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/motorbike_on_the_avenue/pseuds/motorbike_on_the_avenue
Summary: 'What's the worst first date you've ever been on?''She was asked out by another guy while we were on the date.She said yes.'
Relationships: Hyle Hunt & Brienne of Tarth, Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 64
Kudos: 266





	Worst First Date

**Author's Note:**

> So I should be working on a modern au soulmark multi chapter fic but this happened 
> 
> Based on a comment I read online that was asking people to talk about their worst first dates - someone had answered that their date was asked out by another guy and said yes. And I went ohh that sounds like a great Jaime / Brienne fic! 
> 
> Also, since I know very little about the world of doctors / hospitals I have borrowed liberally from Grey's Anatomy. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Hyle Hunt straightened his tie as he gave his name to the Hostess, and scanned the dimly lit room looking for his date. He, himself was five minutes late, and he expected to see the hulking figure of Dr Brienne Tarth already seated at one of the tables. Hyle hadn’t deliberately planned to be the last one to the restaurant, but he did think of it as a bonus. Brienne, at 6ft 3, with a muscular figure more suited to a man than a woman, attracted attention wherever she went. Hyle knew from spending three years in her presence at Casterly Rock Hospital that people turned back to look at her, or hid snide comment under their breath whenever she passed. Hyle, when she’d first started had been one of them. 

And he knew that tonight, when Brienne arrived, eyes would follow her as she made her way across the room. That people would wonder who she was meeting; who would be the unlucky guy spending the evening in her company? 

So he’d arrived five minutes late. Hyle himself wasn’t exactly gaining top marks in the looks department – in fact the best that could be used to describe him was ‘ordinary’ - and people’s gazes tended to just sweep past him like he was a piece of furniture or an uninspiring picture. They wouldn’t pay too much attention to him. 

As he was led to his table in the back of the restaurant, the waitress informed Hyle that his date wasn’t here yet, and he felt a flash of irritation. Not because people would see that Hyle and Brienne were on a date together – he was already mad at himself for even thinking about it, because this is what he’d been working towards for a year – but because she was late. He checked his phone as he settled into his seat, but there was nothing there. Which was good. It meant Brienne was still coming. Every other time she’d cancelled on him, she’d been nothing if not scrupulous about sending him a message explaining why she had to cancel or postpone. (Three times so far. The first time she’d been caught in a surgery. The second her kitchen ceiling had sprung a leak and her flat had flooded. And last time, she’d been emergency drafted into giving a speech at some conference or other.) 

A few people waved at Hyle, and he waved back in greeting, wondering if this had been the best choice for this date after all. King’s Landing was a great place – it wasn’t too over the top romantic, which he knew Brienne would have hated, it was reasonably priced, and best of all, it was just two streets away from the hospital at which both of them worked. Neither Hyle nor Brienne were on call tonight – he'd checked – but he knew Brienne didn’t like being too far just in case something happened. She only lived five minutes away from the place, in a small flat, that Hyle had been to one time when he’d needed her to sign some papers. 

The downside to this, meant that it was littered with other doctors who currently had the night off. Hyle could see the married Catelyn and Ned Stark (head of general surgery, and orthopaedic respectively), a large group from plastics, including Euron, Melisandre and the newest recruit Margaery, who judging from the wine bottles already littered over the table had come to get drunk and weren’t leaving for a while, and, sitting at a table right at the front (of course), was Dr Jaime Lannister and his brother, Tyrion, who Hyle knew only by reputation. Jaime Lannister was the head of neurosurgery, and was treated like some kind of God around Casterly Rock Hospital. Tyrion Lannister was some kind of writer, Hyle knew, but he made a point to block out as much as he could about the Lannisters and their family, even if they did own most of the hospital. 

‘Sorry,’ said a breathless voice, and Hyle’s attention was torn away from Dr Lannister, who was laughing at something the pretty waitress was saying, as Dr Brienne Tarth sunk into the chair opposite Hyle. She was, Hyle was dismayed to see, still in the basic uniform she wore to and from work each day – black trousers and a fresh pressed white shirt. ‘I had hysterical parents, and I couldn’t just palm them off onto another doctor.’ She shrugged out of her coat, hanging it on her chair, and picked up the menu, even though Hyle knew she came here at least once every two weeks. She hadn’t even bothered to put any make-up on. 

It wasn't like Hyle had been expecting big things from this date. He knew Brienne wasn’t going to show up with her hair styled, perfect make-up, and in clothes she’d brought specially for this evening. It was one of the things Hyle had grown to admire about Brienne – her no-nonsense, no frills attitude to everything in life. If something needed doing, she did it. She didn’t often complain, and she wasn’t one to embellish, and it was refreshing to have someone who didn’t sugarcoat. If somebody messed up, Brienne would tell them. And she was still one of the most liked people in the hospital. 

But still. After a rocky start when Brienne had first started, and a memory that made Hyle flush, they’d settled into a working friendship. It had taken a year for Brienne to believe Hyle when he said he wanted to take her on a date, and several long speeches on his part where he tried to explain why he liked her, and why he thought they would work well together and why she should give him a chance. She’d finally agreed, and Hyle knew it wasn’t just because he’d worn her down – it was because Brienne had decided he was right. That they could work well together. That she had considered his points, and concluded it wouldn’t be the worst thing to go on a date with him. She’d even smiled at him earlier this afternoon, which Hyle had taken to mean she was excited about tonight. But her showing up having made zero effort showed Hyle exactly where he came in her life. 

‘I hope it wasn’t anything serious,’ he replied, taking a sip of water from the glass on the table. Brienne was a paediatric surgeon, operating on 16 years and under, and she was damn good one. Everyone had expected her to go into Ortho, following Ned Stark; she’d had a natural talent for breaking and resetting bones, but in the end, she’d plumped for the one thing nobody had seen her doing; working with children. She shrugged when people asked her why she’d chosen to go into the field, and the most Hyle had ever been able to get out of her was that ‘it felt like a calling. It’s all I’ve wanted to do since I started shadowing each department.’ 

‘No,’ Brienne said now. ‘Their daughter finally received her transplant and they were excited.’ There was a flush on Brienne’s cheeks that said she was happy about it too. Brienne might not be the one who was performing the transplant – that would be her boss probably, Dr Tarly, a man so unsuited to working with kids that most of the hospital had a running bet on when he would finally call it quits – but she always seemed to form a natural bond with the children and their parents on the ward. 

‘That’s great!’ Hyle said, and Brienne nodded her agreement. 

Then the silence settled. Brienne was still looking at the menu, and Hyle cast his gaze around the room, looking for something to kick start a conversation. He couldn’t ask her how the rest of her day at work had been – he'd seen her for most of it. He knew how it had been (a good day by all accounts. She’d performed two surgeries, both of which had gone well, even if one had suffered a few complications. Both of the girl’s she’d operated on had come around shortly afterwards, and everything was looking good in both cases. One of her favourite patients, Podrick Payne had finally been released after spending two months inside. She’d been sad to see him go, but glad he was finally going to be living his life again.) 

He spotted Dr Lannister looking over at them, and straightened himself a little. Dr Lannister was probably wondering what was going on – Hyle couldn’t make out his expression from this far away, not through the dim lighting, but everyone knew how Dr Lannister and Dr Tarth felt about each other. They’d had screaming matches in the hallways of the hospital before, disagreeing over treatments for patients. Dr Lannister was a fan of disguising snarky comments at Brienne in meetings, although Brienne usually got her own back in the end, some way or the other. 

Hyle turned back to his date. He could do this. He’d been on dates before, and he could make this one work. Him and Brienne could be something, he was sure of that. It might not be a passionate, all-consuming relationship that was sold to them by TV shows and books, but it would be solid. A foundation that they could build on for years. Hyle was tired of the dating scene, of trying to get women to go out with him, of being set up by his friends with women whose disappointment flashed in their eyes when they got their first look at him. 

Brienne would make a good wife, Hyle was sure of that. And she’d never expect more than he could give her. He was a solid surgeon, but he would never amount to top dog, even in his field (general). He would be on the same level for the rest of his life, until he retired. He was okay with that, and he needed a partner who would be too. Brienne wouldn’t try to change him, he was sure of that. She wouldn’t push him to go for promotions he knew he wouldn’t get or to take cases he wouldn’t be able to solve. 

And, in all fairness, Hyle was probably the best Brienne herself could hope for. Her looks made her passed over by most of the guys she met, and her endless determination to go after what she wanted, and the life she needed to build for herself was viewed as too strong willed. She’d had one boyfriend in all the time that Hyle had known her, a big ginger guy, who hadn’t understood why Brienne pushed herself as hard as she did. Tormund hadn’t got why Brienne needed to attend the conferences, or the lectures, or learn about what was happening in all the other fields, not just her own. 

She was the hardest working doctor in the hospital, and that was saying something. In fact the only one who seemed to put in as much time and effort, and keep themselves updated in every aspect was...well. Dr Jaime Lannister. Hyle had heard Brienne complaining several times that she’d shown up at some speech or other to find him there too. 

Brienne worked hard to prove to everyone that she deserved to be here, to fight for the only place she’d ever felt like she belonged. 

Jaime Lannister worked hard to prove that it wasn’t just his Daddy’s money and legacy as a world-renowned neurosurgeon himself which was why he was where he was. Hyle kind of respected him for that (but for nothing else. Jaime Lannister didn’t deserve respect. He treated most other people like they were the bugs under his shoe, thinking nothing of laughing at them, or trampling over them to get his own way.) 

‘You look nice,’ Hyle said. Brienne looked up at him, her eyes narrowing. Not in suspicion; she knew that Hyle hadn’t meant it as an insult. She did look nice; she might not be stunning, or even pretty, but her skin was clear, and her hair was combed. It was the nicest Brienne Tarth ever came to looking. 

Her eyes shot down to her outfit, and her mouth twisted. ‘I should have dressed up. Just a little,’ she said. ‘Things like that just don’t occur to me. I’m sorry.’ She gazed at him then, and Hyle shifted a little. He’d put on his best suit, and a clean pressed shirt. He’d showered just before coming out, and even applied a little aftershave. 

‘You look...nice too, Hyle,’ she said. Hyle supposed it was the best he could hope for. Just like nobody would ever tell Brienne she was beautiful, no one would ever tell him that either. 

But that was fine. They could both be slightly below average together. 

‘How was your weekend?’ Hyle asked. The dim lights were starting to give him a headache, as was the muted chatter coming from the diners all around them. He wasn’t a fan of crowds, but he hadn’t wanted to take Brienne somewhere smaller. She would like to be somewhere familiar, he thought. And he wanted to make her comfortable. 

‘It was good, thank you,’ Brienne said, finally putting down her menu. ‘I went to the Starks house, to see the new baby.’ 

‘Ah,’ Hyle said. Catelyn Stark was his boss, but he didn’t much care for her personal life, a never talked about rule that she seemed more than fine with. Her and her husband were seated a little way away from them this evening and Hyle could see that Catelyn was checking her phone every two minutes. She’d been on maternity leave for three months now. Maybe he should have gone to say hello to them – but then again, it wasn’t like Catelyn had waved to him when he’d entered King’s Landing tonight. ‘It was a boy, wasn't it?’ 

‘Brandon,’ Brienne said. ‘He’s got a headful of dark hair, just like his father. I think Catelyn is quite disappointed; she was hoping for another red-head.’ Her two eldest had red hair, Hyle recalled; but he was sure there was another one in the mix, a tiny daughter with brown hair. Even though she was head of his department, Catelyn and Hyle didn’t mix all that much; a more paranoid person than him might think it was because Catelyn scheduled their shifts to overlap as little as possible, but Hyle was just thankful he wasn’t under her watchful eye at all hours of the day, so he didn’t look at it too closely. 

‘Cute,’ Hyle said. He knew Brienne, despite her line of work, didn’t get all gooey over babies. Another point in her favour. Hyle would like one or two kids, just because it was the expected thing to do in life, and he knew Brienne shared his view. 

The waitress came to take their order, (chicken and mushroom risotto for Brienne, truffle mash potatoes and steak for Hyle. He managed to persuade Brienne to share a bottle of wine with him, although he knew from the look on her face and her insistence that she’d ‘just have a small glass’ meant he’d be drinking most of it on his own), and the silence settled back between then. 

Hyle didn’t just want to talk about work, even though he knew Brienne’s life was filled with little else. 

‘And you?’ Brienne asked. ‘How was your weekend?’ 

‘It was alright,’ Hyle said, smiling at the waitress as she brought over the bottle of red. He poured a glass for Brienne, stopping when a frown appeared on her face, and switching to pouring his own. ‘I went paint balling with some old friends.’ 

‘Anyone I know?’ Brienne asked lightly, but he could hear the undercurrent in her tone. 

‘No,’ he said. ‘I told you. I don’t speak to those guys anymore.’ 

‘Of course.’ 

The silence was back, and Hyle was resentful of Brienne for bringing that topic into the conversation. Not that he could really blame her, he supposed. Even though she said she wasn’t still angry and bitter about it, Hyle wouldn’t blame her if she was. 

(When Brienne had first come to the hospital, a fifth-year intern, who’d been integrated into Casterly because the hospital she’d been working at had been closed down, there had been a certain bet made amongst a few older doctors. A bet to see who could get Brienne to sleep with them first. It really hadn’t been anything to do with her personally, the doctors made the same bet with each new set of interns, a silly fun game, where nobody usually ended up getting hurt, and one of them got laid. They repaid the intern by throwing them a few good surgeries, and then everyone moved on and that was the end of it. But Brienne had heard about the bet from someone, and Hyle guessed that she’d told Catelyn about it. Catelyn in turn had gone to her husband’s best friend, Dr Robert Baratheron, the new Chief of Surgery, and he’d come down pretty hard on everyone who had been involved. Nobody had been fired, but the doctors who’d been involved had faced the disgust of the whole hospital for weeks, especially when others had come forward and told their stories about how it had happened to them too. Most of the others had found new jobs within a few months of their bets being discovered, and Hyle had only hung on by the skin of his teeth, and by persuading Robert that he’d been talked into it by the others. Nobody had been happy with him, and he was still feeling the effects to this day. Not only was asking Brienne out a good, solid investment for the rest of his life, he also hoped it would go some way to winning back some of the other staff members to his side.) 

Hyle was just about to open his mouth and ask Brienne what she liked to do in her spare time (and then excuse himself and run to the toilet to Google first date topics, because he was out of ideas) when a voice from above interrupted him. 

‘Good evening,’ said Dr Jaime Lannister. Hyle and Brienne looked up at him, and the burning resentment that Hyle always felt in Jaime’s presence snaked through his veins. It wasn’t fair that someone got brains, and looks. Jaime Lannister was a Greek God in the 21st century. With his long golden hair, bright green eyes, and well-defined muscles, more than one patient had actually fainted when he’d walked into their room. ‘What are we up tonight, then?’ 

To Hyle’s dismay, Dr Lannister pulled up a chair from a nearby empty table, and sat down, wedging himself in the small space at the side of their table. There was a smile on his face that didn’t seem to reach his eyes, and Hyle wondered what it was that he wanted. 

‘Dr Lannister,’ Brienne said, ‘what can we do for you?’ 

Jaime shrugged. ‘I was just having dinner with my brother,’ he said waving over to Tyrion who waved cheerily back, ‘and thought I'd come and say hello to you two.’ His gaze swivelled between the two of them, and Hyle reached for his glass of wine. 

‘Hello,’ Brienne said, ‘please, give your brother my love.’ Hyle had forgotten that Brienne and Tyrion were sort of friends; the writer had spent six weeks shadowing her for a book a year or so ago. They’d been friendly ever since. 

When nothing happened, except Jaime smiled weirdly at both of them, Brienne cleared her throat. ‘Shouldn’t you be getting back to your brother, Dr Lannister?’ she asked. 

Hyle fought not to raise his eyebrows. Brienne always called Jaime ‘Dr Lannister’ when she was annoyed at him for some reason. It was her way of maintaining politeness, even though everyone else knew there was an undercurrent of ‘fuck you’ running through her words. 

‘Oh, he’ll be alright for a few more minutes,’ Jaime said. ‘He’s been trying to get the waitress’s number all evening, and I fear I was cramping his style.’ 

They all turned back to look at Tyrion, who was now engaged in conversation with the dark-haired waitress. 

‘And excusing yourself to the bathroom was out of the question?’ Brienne asked. 

A smirk flit across Jaime’s face, and he turned in his seat, effectively cutting Hyle out of the conversation. Hyle now had a great view of the back of his golden head, and he briefly wondered what conditioner Jaime used and if he could ask him for the name. 

‘Well, I wanted to see what this was about,’ Jaime said. ‘A business meeting I’m assuming?’ He gave a laugh. ‘You know, it really is a brilliant idea, having conversations about patients or studies over a glass of wine and dinner instead of in the hospital. Much more relaxing. I might suggest it at the next board meeting, actually, see if we can put the whole thing on expenses.’ 

‘Jaime, you know full well this isn’t a business meeting,’ Brienne said. 

‘Then what is it?’ Jaime shot back. 

There was the briefest of pauses before Brienne answered, Hyle noticed. 

‘It’s a date,’ Brienne said. To give her credit, she didn’t avert her gaze or even blush. She then reached for her glass and took a giant sip of wine, but that was fine. Hyle probably would have had to do the same thing. 

‘A date?’ Jaime said, the word sounding like he’d just heard it for the first time. ‘Between you and Hyle.’ He lent back in his chair all traces of humor gone from his face. 

‘Yes,’ Hyle said, making both Jaime’s green eyes and Brienne’s blue one's flicker over to him. ‘Me and Brienne are on a date. What of it?’ 

Hyle wanted this to happen. This was why he’d brought her to King’s Landing, so that a few others from work would see them together and the gossip would start. It would trickle throughout all the staff and all the departments and if things did progress to marriage and kids everyone would be happy for them, not shocked or surprised. 

Which didn’t explain why his palms were clammy. 

‘Funny,’ Jaime said turning back to Brienne, and making Hyle’s anger spike for a moment, ‘you didn’t mention anything about this date when I asked about your plans earlier.’ 

‘You asked if I had plans, and I said yes,’ Brienne said. Hyle scanned the restaurant, looking for their waitress, but she was still over with Tyrion. She’d taken Jaime’s empty seat, and was leaning across the table, her chin propped on her hand. ‘You didn’t ask me to expand.’ 

‘I thought you meant your book club, or a meeting of the historical society you’re part of,’ Jaime said. ‘I didn’t think you meant a date with Hyle Hunt!’ Hyle tried not to take it personal, the tone in which Jaime said his name. And then he filed away those tiny bits of information about Brienne in his brain – they'd come in handy, when they were finally allowed to get back to their date. 

‘I’m sorry, Dr Lannister, what does this have to do with you?’ Brienne asked. Her blue eyes were blazing in a way that Hyle only saw when she spoke to Jaime. ‘We were having a perfectly...adequate evening before you came along.’ 

Okay. Hyle was going to have to revise his earlier opinion; he would have preferred if Brienne sugarcoated every now and again. 

Whatever passed between Jaime and Brienne seemed to have done the trick. Jaime swallowed, half rising from his chair, and Hyle’s hopes finally shot back up. Honestly, this had been a great ice breaker. They could talk about Jaime and laugh and things would relax a little. 

It was Hyle’s fault. He got too cocky. As Jaime rose from his chair, murmuring something about letting the waitress get back to her job, Hyle reached for Brienne’s hand, resting on the table. Maybe to show Jaime that he, Hyle had won. Maybe just to remind Brienne that she was here with him. Maybe just because he thought Brienne would be so distracted, he could get the awkward first touch over with. 

But whatever half formed thoughts were in his brain never got to swim to the surface; Brienne slipped her hand from the table, her fingers brushing his palm as she scratched her face, and blushed red, and Jaime sat back down, turned to Brienne and said; 

‘Go to the Casterly Rock Gala with me.’ 

* 

The Casterly Rock Annual Gala was in part a fundraiser for the hospital, but really an excuse for the board members to get all dressed up and check who’d had the best facelift since last year. The most prestigious doctors were expected to attend, winning donors to their cause with stories about the patients they’d saved this year (or lost, depending on whether you thought you’d get more by going for a sob story), and the gossip about what happened on the night of the Gala lasted months afterwards. 

Hyle himself had never been invited. He was always scheduled to work the same night as the Gala, since his bosses would be attending. Which suited him just fine. He wasn’t one for crowds, or parties, getting all dressed up and trying to woo some old woman dripping with jewels that cost more than his house. 

‘I...what?’ For the first time since he’d known her, Brienne seemed lost for words. The colour had drained from her face, showing her freckles off to a sparkling clarity. 'Jaime...what?’ 

‘It’s very simple,’ Jaime said, his voice solid, his tone steady, ‘I’m asking you out. To the Annual Gala.’ 

‘You’re asking her out?’ Hyle asked, stunned. Dr Lannister...asking out Dr Tarth? Hyle felt a little light headed himself. 

‘Yes,’ Jaime said, turning to Hyle. ‘I’m asking her out.’ Jaime’s gaze was piercing, and Hyle felt himself shrink back in his chair, pulling the wine bottle closer to himself. That would help him gather his thoughts. 

‘Just checking,’ Hyle said. 

Brienne finally seemed to have come out of her trance like state, and had rounded on Jaime like some wild animal finally released from its cage. Even her hair seemed to be frizzing. 

‘Jaime, are you kidding me? You really couldn’t think of a more appropriate time to ask?’ 

Hyle poured himself another glass of wine, and tried not to focus on the stares of other’s he could feel scanning this little scene. It was fine, he told himself. Nobody could hear what was going on. Brienne’s explosion hadn’t been that loud (even if he was sure he’d heard a plate from a jumpy waitress shatter on the floor.) 

‘What could be more appropriate than this?’ Jaime asked. 

‘I’m on a date already,’ Brienne said. Hyle wondered if that was still true. Neither of them had left, so he guessed technically they were still on the date. 

‘Exactly,’ Jaime said, like everything should have become clear. 

‘You think this is the best time to ask me out?’ Brienne asked, her voice scathing. 

‘Well, no,’ Jaime said. ‘I thought the best time to ask you would be next Friday, after you have your meeting with the board, asking them for the grant. Either I’d cheer you up with something to look forward to, or you’d be so happy you wouldn’t even need to think about the answer.’ 

Brienne had a meeting with the board next week? Hyle hadn’t known that. No wonder she’d seemed tense and nervous the last few days. 

‘You were going to ask me out next Friday?’ Brienne sounded as sceptical as Hyle felt. 

If Hyle was the type of person, he might think that Jaime was only doing this to get one over on Hyle. To prove that Jaime was better than Hyle in every single way. To prove that Jaime could take whatever Hyle wanted away from him. 

Except...Hyle didn’t think that much of himself. Jaime Lannister probably didn’t even think about Hyle Hunt except when their paths crossed in the hallways and they exchanged nods of greeting. Hyle wasn’t a competitor in Jaime’s eyes; except for now, it would seem. 

‘Ask anyone if you don’t believe me,’ Jaime said. ‘I’ve made my plans well known.’ 

Brienne shook her head like she didn’t have any room to deal with that information right now, and reached for her wine glass. Hyle hastily topped her up, from the bottle clutched in his hand, not that she seemed to notice. 

It must be true, Hyle thought as he glanced around the room. All those from the hospital were craning their necks to look at their table. The plastics table had gathered a few more to them, (Hyle was going to kill Dick Crabb. He was Hyle’s current intern and he was supposed to be on call tonight, but Hyle could see the bottle of beer in his hand from here.), and they were all pointing over to Jaime and Brienne. As Hyle turned his attention to Catelyn and Ned Stark he was sure he saw a disappearing notebook fall from their hands to the floor. It looked a lot like the betting book that had been passed around different departments for as long as Hyle could remember. But that was stupid. Betting at Casterly had been banned by Robert, when he found out about Brienne. Apart from the few ongoing bets like when Randal Tarly would finally have a breakdown and scream that he hated kids, or which couple would be walked in on in an on-call room first.) 

‘You told people you were going to ask me out?’ Brienne asked. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. Hyle took another sip of his wine. 

‘Well, it was more they kept on asking me when I was actually going to act on my feelings and stop being a pussy and ask you out. I had to tell them something. They wouldn’t stop.’ 

Hyle could see Brienne biting down on her cheek, a move she only made when she was fighting to keep her anger in check. Maybe this date was going to go better than Hyle had even hoped. Watching Brienne blow up and reject Jaime Lannister was more than even his limited imagination could conjure up. ‘Don’t be mad, wench,’ Jaime said, pulling a nickname that Hyle hadn’t heard used for a couple of years. It was the only way Jaime had ever referred to Brienne when she’d first come to the hospital because of...something that Hyle had forgotten or hadn’t paid any attention to at the time. 

Hyle had never been the greatest at asking out women. He fumbled and he tried to make a joke out of it when things looked like they were going bad, or he backtracked...but even he knew Jaime’s attempt was worse than anything Hyle had ever done. Brienne’s flush was now a deep red, and there was a storm of feelings behind her eyes. ‘We’ll have a fabulous evening. You’ll sit at the top table, you’ll get to speak to all kinds of donors and get even more money for your research.’ Jaime flashed his trademarked grin that had made him the literal poster boy for the hospital, and sat back, with his arm slung around the back of his chair. 

‘Jaime, this really isn’t the time or place,’ Brienne said, turning back to the table. She pulled her napkin out, and spread it over her legs, even though Hyle could still see that their waitress was now sitting next to Tyrion, and giggling at whatever he was saying. Their food wasn’t going to be here for a while it seemed. 

‘Look, maybe I could have done this better,’ Jaime said. ‘I assure you this isn’t how I planned to ask you out. I was hoping for more privacy. I might have brought a gift along, just to soften you up a little. Oh, don’t roll your eyes at me, I wasn’t planning on bringing you chocolates or flowers or anything like that. But it might so happen that I have a conference in two days that Dr Selmy will also be attending. I was thinking I could ask him to sign his latest piece for you.’ 

Dr Selmy was the most renowned paediatrician in the world. He’d retired two years ago, but still wrote papers from the comfort of his home, and gave talks now and then. It was no secret that Brienne respected the man, that he was the one person she held above all others in the field. 

‘Jesus, you’re trying to get her to date you, not jump into your bed,’ Hyle said, the wine making his tongue loose. 

He could almost see the insult gather at Jaime’s lips, how close the words about Hyle’s past came to slipping out into the open; but Jaime pulled himself back at the last moment, swallowing them down. 

‘Brienne, why are you on at date with Hyle Hunt?’ Jaime asked. Brienne blinked at the change in the conversation, her brown creased. Even Hyle found himself confused. 

‘What?’ Brienne said. 

‘Earlier on, you asked me if I really thought this was an appropriate time to ask you out,’ Jaime said. ‘But in truth, I can’t think of a better time. Why are you on a date with Hyle?’ 

‘Because,’ Brienne said, and for a second Hyle let himself image Brienne telling Jaime that it was because she’d fallen madly deeply in love with Hyle over the past few years and couldn’t picture her life without him, and could Jaime please just fuck off and go back to his own dinner now. ‘I’m sorry, what does that have to do you?’ Brienne said instead. 

‘When I first saw you enter tonight, I watched you make your way towards Hyle, and I couldn’t work out why you’d be meeting him. Until Tyrion broached the idea, I never suspected you two were on a date. I assumed it was to talk about work, or because Hyle owed you for performing that surgery the other month, even though you told him not to until you’d found another solution.’ Hyle had forgotten about that. Brienne hadn’t spoken to him for a week, and it was only the news that the patient had woken up and was in good health that had warmed Brienne back up to Hyle. (He hadn’t taken the patient just to be a dick. Dr Tarly had insisted upon it, and since he was the boss, not Brienne, Hyle had no choice but to obey.) ‘But neither of those seemed to be the case. Which meant you two had to be on a date.’ The noise around them was getting quieter and quieter, Hyle was sure. Even the waitresses who were still working seemed to be talking smaller steps so as to avoid making any more noise than they had to. The lights seemed brighter too, and Hyle found himself squinting up at them, to avoid looking at the faces now staring blatantly at their table. Should he excuse himself and go to the toilet? 

But no. That would only draw more attention to himself. 

And, as much as he wished he was anywhere else, he also had the best seat in the house to what was sure to be the hottest gossip in the hospital since Dr Targaryen had discovered the son he gave up for adoption fifteen years ago was back in the same city and needed a transplant. 

‘Which begged the question...how? How did this happen? I remember you declaring you’d never speak to Hunt again, and getting interns to run messages between the two of you.’ 

‘Well, I’ve grown up since then,’ Brienne said. ‘We’ve been talking for years now.’ 

‘Yes, but forgive me for not noticing the burning passion between the two of you,’ Jaime said. ‘I’ve seen more heat between the Snow boy who’s a porter and the dead bodies he takes down to the morgue.’ 

Well, that was a low blow. Jon Snow, who’d apparently literally died on an operating table when he was 16 before being brought back two minutes later was a nice enough lad. And Hyle was relatively sure that the rumors about Jon trying to speak to the dead were false. ‘Which meant you didn’t agree to this because of a hidden burning passion for Hunt,’ Jaime said, holding up one hand, and ticking a finger off. ‘And let’s face it, it’s not because of his movie star looks.’ 

‘If you really think that would be important to me, I think this conversation is over,’ Brienne said. She reached for where the wine bottle had been a few minutes ago, surprised when her hand passed through thin air. 

The wine bottle was clutched in the crook of Hyle’s arm, and probably wouldn’t benefit Brienne anyway, since there were only a few drops left in the bottle. 

‘I know there’s more to a person than what they look like,’ Jaime said hurriedly, ‘but Hunt’s hardly got a sparkling personality either.’ 

Hyle wondered if he should feel insulted, but he felt like the moment to inject had passed in all honestly. Maybe if he’d protested twenty minutes ago when Jaime had first sat down; but there wasn’t really much he could do now, other than watch this play out. And it was only 60% because he was pretty sure if he stood up and tried to challenge Jaime right now, he would fall over. The wine had gone straight to his head. (The other 40% was because he knew, even sober, that Jaime would win any altercation that Hyle might be able to taunt him into, and if this wasn’t humiliating enough, being laid flat out by Jaime Lannister would be. Hyle really would have to find another place to work after that,) 

‘So it’s not because of any deep feelings you’ve got for him,’ Jaime continued. He was up to three fingers ticked off now. ‘Which means there had to be another reason you agreed to tonight. Either he was bribing you, or blackmailing you – both of which I dismissed quickly since he has nothing worth offering, and you’re too good a person for him to have anything on.’ 

‘You know I think this is the nicest you’ve ever been to me,’ Brienne muttered under her breath, but other than a quick smile Jaime ignored her words. 

‘Which meant there was only one option left – logic. Hyle Hunt talked you into this date by using logic. I’m not sure what exactly he told you – maybe that neither of you could expect better so why not live a boring loveless life together since nothing else was going to come along – but whatever he said, his words got to you.’ 

That was good, what Jaime had said. It was much better than the rousing speeches Hyle had actually given to Brienne, a jumble of examples, and reasons of why they would be – if not good – mediocre together. Hyle stashed the words away in his brain, although he wasn’t really sure for what reason. He already had Brienne on a date. He didn’t need to logic her into it anymore. 

‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Brienne said, her chin held defiantly as she played with the stem of her empty wine glass. Their waitress was now sitting on Tyrion’s lap, while one of his hands disappeared under her shirt, and their mouths were glued together, so Hyle had no hope of ordering another bottle of wine. 

Gods. He really would be leaving a very scathing review of this place online once he got home this evening. 

‘There is, when it’s wrong on every level,’ Jaime said, the softest Hyle had ever heard him. ‘About what you deserve, and what you should hold out for. The jury’s still out on what he deserves.’ 

‘So you thought you’d just come over here and ask me out, to what? Prove a point?’ Brienne asked. 

‘No. Because I knew if he could logic you into one date, and it went well, there would be nothing to stop you having a second. And a third. And that by the time I finally got myself in gear, you’d be dating him, and would turn me down. And who knows where that would lead? Before we know it, you’d be married with a baby on the way, all because he played on your self-doubt and made you think you really couldn’t do better than him.’ 

‘Because you’re such a catch,’ someone said. Hyle looked around trying to figure out where the voice had come from, and it was only because both Brienne and Jaime had turned to stare at him that he realised he was the one who had said it. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Please, carry on.’ He waved a hand between the two of them. ‘Don’t let me interrupt.’ 

‘As much as it pains me to admit this, Hyle has a point,’ Jaime said, giving a short laugh that had worlds of pain hidden underneath it. Hyle wondered what it was about for a second, before deciding whatever secrets the rich, good looking, brilliant doctor was hiding were probably better left alone. It would be much harder to hate him if Hyle had to start thinking about him a as real person. ‘I know I’m not deserving of you either. But I had to try.’ 

Silence settled over their table, as Hyle emptied the wine bottle into his glass, watching the drops race each other down the inside of the neck. 

‘Jaime,’ Brienne said, and Hyle was shocked to hear her voice was weak, and confused and a myriad of other things she never let herself be in front of other people. ‘I’m on a date.’ 

‘Right,’ Jaime said, nodding his head, and going to stand up for the second time this evening. 

Gods, but this was dramatic. For the first time, Hyle could see why the rest of the hospital seemed to be invested in these two, so much so that nobody could tear their eyes away from this table, even those who he’d bet had never seen Brienne or Jaime before in their lives. He thought about their interactions over the years, the heated glares and the smirks, the tension that seemed to build whenever the two of them were in the same room. Hyle had been so blinded by his hatred of Jaime, and his ideas of Brienne that he hadn’t read it for what it truly was. 

‘You know,’ Hyle said, and Jaime paused. ‘You haven’t actually told him no.’ 

‘He’s right,’ Jaime said slowly, sinking back into his chair and turning to Brienne. ‘You never answered my question.’ 

‘This really isn’t the time,’ Brienne said, and her gaze flashed around the room, at all the eyes staring at them, that were suddenly buried behind menus, or looking in bags, or pondering something as they stared up at the lights. Her gaze landed on Hyle. 

‘Oh, don’t mind me,’ Hyle said. ‘I think that ship has long sailed, don’t you? Say what you want to say, and be quick about. I need another drink and I can’t see us being served until this is over with.’ He placed the empty bottle on the table, the dull thunk echoing. Two waitresses were sitting at the Plastics table, and Margaery seemed to be whispering all the details to them. Hyle was tempted to wave. 

‘Hyle, I...’ Brienne said, but he waved her off again. 

‘Really,’ he said. ‘Jaime’s right. I shouldn’t have talked you into this in the first place. You never wanted to be here.’ 

He would have liked a denial, but Brienne stayed silent and he felt foolish for hoping. Hadn’t tonight crushed all his hopes and dreams? 

‘Then yes,’ Brienne said. ‘Yes, Jaime I would like to go to the Gala with you.’ A brilliant smile lit her face, a smile that Hyle knew no matter how many years he could spend with Brienne at his side, he’d never have been able to coax from her. 

‘Excellent,’ Jaime said and they shared a smile, lost in each other’s gazes. 

Hyle wondered if the sick feeling was because of the wine. ‘But I don’t think the Gala is quite the place for our first date. I think we should go on a date before then. Maybe a couple if we can fit them in.’ This time Jaime did stand, and Hyle found himself craning his neck to look up at him. 

Gods, he was an arsehole. 

‘What?’ Brienne said. ‘What do you mean?’ 

‘I mean I think we should go on another date, one with a little less pressure.’ Jaime glanced at his watch. ‘I’m actually free right now. And I know the perfect place.’ He held his hand out, over the table. 

‘I...well...,’ Brienne said, glancing a look at Hyle. 

‘Oh, I think we are very definitely done here,’ Hyle said. ‘Please go and do whatever it is you want to do and don’t give me a second thought.’ It wasn’t like she’d given him more than one this entire evening anyhow. ‘Once you’ve gone I can get the bill, leave, and put this entire thing behind me.’ Hyle thought it would probably take a lot more than that – a lot more alcohol needed to be consumed for starters – but he did know he couldn’t do anything until Brienne had gone. 

‘I’m sorry, Hyle,’ Brienne said, gathering her coat and her bag to her, but the smile on her face said otherwise. ‘Really.’ There was nothing more to say after that, so she gave him a quick pat of his hand, before she took the arm Jaime was offering her, and they made their way out of the restaurant. 

‘I hope you’re not planning on taking me to one of those fancy places you’re always talking about,’ Brienne said. ‘I’m not dressed for it.’ 

‘You look more than fine to me,’ Jaime said, as they moved away from Hyle’s table. ‘You always do.’ 

As they left, Jaime raised one hand to wave goodbye to his brother who tore himself away from the waitress long enough to let out a wolf whistle. 

If Hyle thought watching his date leave on the arm of another man was bad, the sudden cheers, claps, yells and whistles from the other diners made the whole thing surreal. People were banging on tables, Tyrion was calling for champagne, and everywhere Hyle looked people were wearing great big smiles. Even Catelyn Stark. And she never smiled! 

As Jaime and Brienne left King’s Landing (and Hyle swore he could hear Brienne, even over the applause, asking Jaime if because she’d agreed to go on a date with him, that meant the signed Dr Selmy article was now off the table), Hyle gave it ten seconds before looking up and searching for the waitress. When he finally made eye contact with her, he shook the empty bottle of wine, indicating that he’d like another bottle, then watched her scatter. 

Probably not the politest way to ask for another drink, but Hyle was way past politeness. He felt, given what had just happened, the audience who’d been privy to his humiliation could cut him a little slack. He avoided everyone else’s gazes, slumping down in his seat. Maybe he should go somewhere else, but he was here now, and he didn’t think he could face striding past all these people and out into the night. Plus, the cold air outside would probably sober him up a little, and he wasn’t ready for that. He was going to sit here and get steaming drunk and not even think about what Jaime and Brienne were up to. 

He wasn’t going to think about how, just before they’d left, Jaime’s hand had slipped down and grasped Brienne’s in his, and how both their faces had glowed, and Jaime Lannister who Hyle had always believed to have grown up in a golden glow had looked like he’d just been handed something he never thought he’d be able to have. Like all his dreams had come at once. 

And Hyle hated that he didn’t feel such a strong hatred towards Dr Lannister anymore; surely if there was a valid reason for his hate, this was it. But, no. Now there was a tiny bloom of respect there. If anyone deserved happiness, he supposed he would say that Dr Brienne Tarth was up there on the list. And he already knew that Jaime would make her happy in a way Hyle had never even hoped to. 

‘Tell me everything.’ Margaery had thrown herself into the chair opposite Hyle, with the betting notebook in her hand, and a pen poised over a blank page. ‘Everything. Leave out no detail. I need to know who said what, who looked at who when, and how bad Brienne’s blushes got.’ She blinked heavily made up eyes at him, leaning over the table, her chest heaving with excitement. ‘Start at the beginning,’ Margaery instructed. 

Before Hyle could open his mouth, (and he liked to think it would have been to ask her what the hell she was doing, not to spill the entire story), there was somebody climbing up onto the empty seat that Jaime had left, and patting Hyle on the arm. 

‘It happens to the best of us,’ Tyrion Lannister said. Hyle had never spoken to him before – apart from Jaime neither of the other Lannister siblings spent much time around the hospital. Cersei Lannister, Jaime’s twin ran the PR department from offices several streets away and only appeared when there was some big crisis she needed to handle. And even if they did spend all their time there, Hyle knew there would be no reason for them to bother with him. ‘I once had a woman run out on me in the middle of the night, taking both my wallet and my watch.’ Tyrion reached for the wine bottle the waitress had placed down in the middle of the table and pulled Brienne’s empty glass towards him. ‘Hope you don’t mind, but I figured since we’d both had our dates run out on us we could spend the rest of the evening together.’ Tyrion topped up Hyle’s glass, then pushed it back towards him. ‘Although I assure you, once Shae gets off, I will be out of your hair.’ Tyrion nodded to the waitress he’d been kissing, who was now at the serving station, and seemed to be getting yelled at by her manager – not that this Shae seemed bothered. There was a blank look on her face, like all the words were just passing her by. ‘And, if you happen to get lucky, I’ll let you go in peace,’ Tyrion said, nodding at the waitress who had brought the wine. Hyle looked back at her, surprised to see that her gaze was still on him. 

‘I don’t think she’s interested in me,’ Hyle muttered, taking a long gulp from his wine glass. 

‘Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure,’ Tyrion said. ‘There’s nothing like pity to make a woman want to sleep with you. Trust me. I would know.’ Hyle felt this statement should be disputed, but his head was now swimming with the wine, and Margaery was talking to him again and that waitress was still looking at him, and the lights were suddenly brighter, and the chatter around the tables had resumed. 

Margaery was still waiting on the other side of the table, her pen ready. It wasn’t like he wanted to relive the past thirty minutes or so. 

But, he reasoned, checking to make sure that the waitress was still within hearing distance, and wondering just how thick he could lay this story on; it wasn’t like he had anything left to lose.


End file.
